No kidding. I'm not quite sure how anyone could confuse exercising their freedom of speech with vandalizing something that doesn't belong to them. Furthermore, I'm not quite sure how the police officer that handled this whole deal couldn't tell the difference either.

If someone wants to buy their own flag and burn it like a dumbass, that's their right. However, nobody has the right to destroy things that don't belong to them. It's that simple.